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Benson X said:
Bear bells and bad singing are probably your best defense....or offense I should say.

Depending on what song you choose to sing - it may well ward off any living creature from approaching you!

All joking aside - I did a 20-mile backpacking trip on remote Vancouver Island in fall '16. I felt pretty vulnerable the whole time, since I was not allowed any firearms/sidearms, nor could I have any fires in the park where I was camping. I didn't see another soul for the duration of my trek through the woods. I did have a can of Bear Spray and some jingle bells on my pack.

After I had accomplished my goal (a day early) and was calculating the route back to my truck to see if I would have enough time to make it back before dark. Within 5 minutes of deciding to pack up camp, I heard a pack of wolves (assumably with a fresh kill) whooping and hollering something evil - not even 1/4 mile west from my location. This helped to reaffirm my decision to head out. After packing-up, I took one last stroll around the beautiful (Arnica) lake that I had called home for the last 2 nights. It was then that I spotted a black bear across the lake from me. He was just walking the water's edge, and seemed uninterested in me. I made a racket and started singing Eddie Money's "Two Tickets to Paradise" - this seemed to do the trick as he looked in my direction before clambering back up into the woods and out of sight from me.

This made the journey back down the mountain pretty exciting - I kept looking over my shoulder, or expecting that bear to bust out of the woods in front of me. Not of that happened, luckily, but it did keep me alert and helped remind me not to take nature for granted. I was hiking in THEIR backyard and trespassing on THEIR property.
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I grew up in bear and cougar country, lots of pets got taken, outdoor cats were gone before long. Black bears were like MEH. Chase them out of the garbage all the time, out of the fruit trees all the time. We even had to take the tire swing out because the bears would lay on the ground and kick the tire around and the dogs stuck in the house just wouldn't shut up. Also, they put holes in the pool all the time. Super annoying. I'd say I have seen a bear in my yard or within 50 feet, at least 500 times over the years.

I can tell you a healthy cougar, about a snowballs chance in hell you will stab it to death. Doubt anyone would ever see it coming. I've only seen a healthy one a few times, mostly when they were treed by dogs, and I am telling you guys, the deltoids, triceps, pectoral basically their arm and chest muscles look like Hulk Hogan back in the day. I'm a hair shy of 6' and back then I could leg press 800lbs and the Cougars had front legs bigger than mine. I'd bet they would hit harder that Mike Tyson in his prime. I've seen a Cougar post kill without a scratch after taking an 8 point buck which looked damn near bigger than it and hauled it away without much trouble and I'm 100% sure your average deer is way more aware of a Cougar stalking it than your average person. Plus I bet an angry 8 point buck could lay a whoopin' on the average hiker.
 
The cougar in the article was described as being 40 kilos. Not exactly a large specimen. Probably a female or young male.
 
Oyster said:
The cougar in the article was described as being 40 kilos. Not exactly a large specimen. Probably a female or young male.
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That is like a kitten up here in BC, but maybe just like the Deer on Vancouver Island, they are smaller there. Man, guys on here have a German Shepard that big. Cougar on the mainland can be a hell of a lot bigger than that. I'd put money easily over 150lbs.
 
Casinostocks said:
How about some bells and whistles, literally? Most wild predators just tend to hide and cower when they hear those juggling bells unless a poor sap happens to accidentally get close to them while they're coupling or when a momma bear is the leading her cute baby bears!
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I would but usually making enough noise bashing around already. Plus listening to bells all day drives you crazy (we make summer students wear them; mostly to make sure they aren’t lost!)
 
Good luck knife people
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We see a mountain lion casually stroll down our street just about every year. They are not uncommon in San Luis Obispo county, Ca.
 
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